


Second Chance

by thirdeyeopen



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Membrane tries to be a better Dad, Suicide Attempt, story focuses mostly on the Membrane family but has a pinch of Zim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21745264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirdeyeopen/pseuds/thirdeyeopen
Summary: Professor Membrane misses Dib and Gaz's graduation. Hours later, his son attempts suicide.Given a miraculous second chance, Membrane must fix his mistakes and be the parent he never was.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	1. I'll Make Them Care

The gymnasium was alive with the sound of conversation, a jumbled mess of voices blending into one. Kids sat in cold metal chairs, constantly twisting around in their seats to seek out a parent far behind. The stage was the focal point of multiple colored spotlights, principals, teachers and other staff hidden behind two mauve, silky curtains. More and more kids filled in as time went on, slowly taking up all the available space. They filed in in order; the assemblance had begun with the sixth graders, then the seventh. Now that the eighth - the group her brother belonged to - were finally coming in, the ceremony would undoubtedly begin soon. 

Gaz had her attention held mostly on her Game Slave, focusing on trying to take down a Golden Lynel in _Breath of the Wild._ The boy sitting next to her continuously looked over to her screen, watching her weave around the enemy's attacks with shocking precision. She beat the Lynel after a few minutes of extreme focus, the boy beside her staying silent in awe as he watched her collect the beast's spoils. She briefly wondered how he would feel if she told him this was her fifteenth playthrough before her attention was drawn to the stage; the curtains were pulling apart, revealing the principal at a podium, the vice president and teachers standing off to her side. Gaz's finger hovered over the 'save' prompt on the Game Slave's screen, before she quickly pulled it away and returned to playing. Sixth grade was first. She had a _bit_ more time. 

Many rows behind her, Dib's attention was also occupied. He continuously looked behind himself, eyes scanning rows of parents for seconds at a time before he turned back around. No matter how many times he scanned the crowd, he couldn't spot that one important person, and that made him anxious.

_I wouldn't miss it for the world. Promise._

Facing the stage again, Dib furrowed his eyebrows as the principal began to go off on a spiel. His mind was too burdened with worry to focus on anything she was saying. The young Membrane took one more swift look behind him before giving up, beginning to bite his fingers in anxiety as he slunk lower in his seat. 

_Where are you, Dad…?_

  
  


The ceremony flew by; wrapped up in picking fights with Guardians, Gaz didn't realize how close her name was to being called until it actually was. She held onto her Game Slave as she left her seat, heading up the stage steps whilst the principal called out her achievements; she made the AB honor roll and got a Gold Seal, an award given to students that had maintained an exceptionally high GPA the entire school year. She shook the principal's hand, took her certificate (complete with the seal) and joined her classmates to stand beside them on the stage. Her eyes swept the crowd of parents behind the eighth graders, finding nothing even as the class marched back down the stairs and sat in their seats once more. 

She didn't know what she was expecting. 

"Dib Membrane," the principal called. Nobody clapped for him as he stood and hastily moved to the front of the gymnasium, climbing up the stairs and shaking hands with the principal. He was on the honor roll too, but missed the gold seal. With his certificate in hand, he marched to join his classmates, realizing for the first time that Zim had failed to show up. 

So that was _two_ people missing. 

After the principal called out some exceptionally good students and bragged on their awkward selves, the ceremony ended. Gaz and Dib regrouped in the mass of kids meeting up with their parents, the only ones that they could see not being wrapped in a bear hug by a mother or father. 

The siblings said nothing to each other as they regrouped; if Membrane never showed, then it was time to walk home. They headed out of Skool and down the road, and were never stopped by anyone. 

  
  
  


The house was the same as they left it that morning, welcoming them back after another disappointing day. Gaz dropped her bookbag as soon as she got inside the house, Dib closing the front door behind them as they entered.

The two siblings hovered in the living room, and Gaz was the first to break the silence. 

"Dib, you know he has to work." She said softly, turning her Game Slave back on. 

"No." Dib immediately shot back. "Screw that. He promised. He _promised."_

"Look, I hate it just as much as you, but you're going to have to get over it. Dad's doing important stuff, life-changing stuff. If that means he misses our graduation, then… then, you know, whatever."

"Why are you excusing him?" Dib yelled. "You mean you aren't sick of it??" 

"Sick of what?"

" _This!_ All of this! The lying, the failed plans, the… the-the robot making us food! You know we deserve better!" 

"Dib, we're doing _fine_." Gaz replied, her voice seething with mounting annoyance. "We have everything we need. I don't care about what's out of my control. You shouldn't either." 

"We shouldn't have to _beg_ our own Dad to come spend time with us, Gaz!" 

"I don't _beg,_ Dib." She shoots back, silencing her brother. "Dad's a busy man. If he can't make it, he can't make it."

Her dismissive attitude was infuriating, baffling. Dib clenched his fists, opening and closing his mouth in multiple failed rebuttals. Finally, he turned his head away, teeth grinding together, voice low and defeated as he spoke again. 

"If you don't see why you should be mad about this, then… then I don't know what to tell you." 

"I don't know what to tell you, either." Gaz mumbled, heading off for the couch. She plopped down on the cushions, the soft ambience of _Zelda_ drifting through the speakers of her Game Slave. "It is what it is. Even if it sucks."

Dib hovered in the living room for a minute, glaring daggers at the dark television screen beside him. He gave a quiet sniff and then marched past Gaz and the couch, stomping up the stairs and into his room.

He took his backpack off, dropping it onto the floor, before leaping into bed and flopping face-first onto a soft pillow. He's surprised it doesn't shatter his glasses (not that he would care if it did).

Before he could try to stop himself, he was crying; he hadn't cried in years, but he felt like he could do it forever the way it felt to him now.

"I should have known." He berated himself quietly. "He doesn't care. All he cares about is, his st-stupid work." 

The boy sniffled, angrily sitting up and glaring at his bedroom door. When was the last time Membrane showed up to anything important? When was the last time he was even wished happy birthday? In person? 

And what about Gaz? She was obviously the favorite. Why didn't he even put any effort into _her_ life? Why didn't he act like a normal Dad, show up to her Skool concerts and help her with homework? What kept him from making just a _little_ bit of effort for them? 

He didn't care. He made kids so they could be like him, right? So they could carry on with his work when he died? He didn't actually _care_ for them. If he did, he would have showed up. Made an effort for them before that. If he cared, he would have done _something._ But no. This was all the proof Dib needed. 

Dib angrily threw his coat off himself, the tears flowing faster in his fury. He got off the bed and opened the door again, marching down the hallway and stepping into the bathroom.

His classmates didn't care. His sister didn't care. His own _Dad_ didn't even give a shit about him. 

Dib pulled open a drawer under the sink, digging around in a pile of hairbands and small receipts. 

Well, that was fine. 

He pulled out a purple razor.

That was perfectly okay. 

He separated the blade from its place on the razor, eyeing it as he held it up to the mirror. 

He knew how to make them care.

"Martha, what time is it?" Membrane asked his best assistant, the both of them currently hunched over a sparking piece of failed technology. 

"One-thirty-nine, sir." Martha responded, without even looking at her watch.

The professor paused, slowly standing to full height. "One... one thirty nine?" His voice sounded baffled, shocked. Suddenly scared, even.

"Are you okay, sir?" Martha asked him, catching on. She stared at him in concern, a frown on her face. 

In a flash, Membrane was rushing for the door, coat billowing behind him. "Shut down the project momentarily! I'll be back!" He yelled back to Martha, pointing back at her as he retreated.

"Sir-?!" She called after him, reaching a confused and startled hand out. 

_**"JUST DO IT!"** _

Membrane practically threw his car door open, hurrying inside and speeding out of the parking lot. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he barreled down the road, going just under the speed limit. 

_Hurry. Hurry. Hurry._


	2. Diluted Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter contains descriptions of blood and wounds, vomiting, mentions of hospitals, and descriptions of a suicide attempt. 
> 
> Be safe and read with caution.

He's too late. The gymnasium floor is empty, every chair folded on top of one another and pushed to the sides. The stage is dormant, the curtains closed. It's dark in there.

Membrane stands there in disbelief, illuminated in the attentive glow of the sun as it bleeds through the skylight. 

He missed his kids’ graduation. After everything he promised, every time he’d reassured Gaz, he’s lied. 

No. No, he hadn’t lied. He’d just gotten caught up, and they’d understand if he told them. They wouldn’t be upset or disappointed, because they’re used to it.

Oh, god, that was even worse. 

No. He needs to get back home. 

He needs to see his kids. 

The water has the tub filled in no time. Dib stands dressed in front of the rising water, watching his own reflection dance among the ripples. He looks tired, but feels at peace. Gone is the anger and the grudge, replaced instead by a feeling of acceptance. Of responsibility. This is it. He's really going through with this. 

He turns the faucet off and slowly climbs into the tub. His wettened clothes cling to him, the sudden added weight seeming to lure him deeper into the water, just begging him to go completely under. 

Not one to waste time, Dib presses the razor against its proper spot on his left arm. He takes a deep, bated breath, closes his eyes tightly, and begins to cut.

_Knock knock knock!_

“Dib!”

Gaz raps her knuckles against the door, angrily yelling at the occupant inside. She stands with her legs crossed, one hand on her stomach as she called to her brother.

“Dib, hurry up! I know you’re probably taking forever just to get back at me for defending Dad, but it is seriously _not_ funny!”

After a moment of silence, the youngest Membrane groans and hits the door again, much harder this time. **“** ** _Dib!_** It's _my_ bathroom, get out! ”

No response. Gaz stops knocking, instead pressing her ear to the door and listening with an angry glare. There's the sound of water on the other side -- _bath_ water. 

"Ugh, _really,_ Dib??" Gaz hisses, anger mounting quickly. She pulls away from the door, wanting to punch a hole right through it. "You're taking a _bath??_ I know you're mad at me, but this is just being petty!" 

Still no response. She can hear the bath running clearly now that she's noticed it. Unease begins to fill her as Dib still doesn't answer. Has he left the water on to flood her bathroom...? 

“Dib…?” Gaz asks with a frown, her voice quiet now, angerless and unsure. “Dib, are you in there?” 

Nothing. A sudden anxiety coils in her gut, one that makes her bite her lip. She places her hand on the doorknob, a shaky glare finding its way onto her face. 

“A-Alright, that’s it, Dib!” Her voice is full of uncertainty now, shaking like a leaf. “You had your chances. I’m coming in!”

The second her eyes fell upon the body in the bathtub, her brain shut down. It's her brother, floating in a flooding pool of diluted crimson, his nose resting just below the surface. It takes Gaz’s brain a moment to catch up, and that's when the screaming begins. 

“ **DIB**!” She screams for him, rushing to the tub and grabbing the first thing of him she can - his arm. The water is warm, covers her arm as she grabs his. “ **OH MY GOD! DIB!** ”

His body is as heavy as lead. The water seems to grab at him, to yank him back even as she pulls on him and shrieks so loud it hurts her throat. It doesn't want to let him go, and Dib is no help. He's either unconscious or dead. 

"Dib!" Gaz screams out again, tugging with all her might. "DIB, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" 

Dib's body tumbles out of the tub at last, leaving both of them crashing onto the floor. Just seeing the dashes of red, the unnatural canyon in the skin of both his arms, makes Gaz scream out again. 

She doesn't know what to do. 

When Membrane hears the screams coming from inside the house, his heart leaps to his throat. He throws open the front door without a moment’s hesitation, getting inside just as Gaz screams once more. 

“GAZLENE!” He calls up to her, sprinting as quickly as he could up the stairs. He's not sure what's happening up there, but he assumes thw worst. Somebody's hurting his daughter, maybe even his son, too. 

Gaz looks up from Dib's pale face as she hears the voice of her father, immediately screaming out for him. “ **DAD**! **HELP ME!** **PLEASE!”**

Heart pounding in his ears, Membrane throws open the bathroom door, his eyes falling over the scene and amplifying his horror. Gaz holds an unconscious Dib in her lap. His skin is pale, his hair moppy, with diluted, watery blood dripping from deep and vertical slices in his arms. His lips are blue and slightly parted, like a gasp for a breath that never came.

Membrane is on his knees in front of them in seconds, taking Dib out of his sobbing daughter’s grip. He lays the unconscious kid on the floor and begins to checks for a pulse - nothing. 

“Go call for an ambulance!” 

The panicked girl stumbles to her feet and rushes out of the bathroom, almost collapsing in her hurry to get downstairs and to her phone. She tears open her bookbag and fishes the device out, dialing 911 as fast as possible. 

Membrane begins CPR, keeping his eyes on his son’s closed eyelids. “Come on, Dib.” He grunted with every press down, watching for a change. “Come back to us. You’ve got to come back, son.”

“PLEASE!” He hears Gaz from downstairs, and then their address being screamed. "MY BROTHER TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF!”

The third time Membrane dips his head to check for a pulse, he finally hears one, a faint throbbing against his ear. He raises his head and quickly continues the compressions, adrenaline rushing through his veins. “That’s it, Dib. Come back. You can do it. Come back to us, son.” 

"W-We need to stop the bleeding!" Gaz cries out from the doorway, startling her father.

“T-Towel.” Membrane stutters out to her, pressing his ear to Dib’s chest once more. The pulse is still there, refusing to strengthen. “G-Get-” 

Gaz is already on it, yanking a towel off the rack on the wall. She quickly presses it to Dib's left arm, nearly vomiting the moment she has to come face to face with the injury again. She grabs Dib's other arm and pressed the towel against both at once, feeling like she's about to pass out. 

"I've got pressure on them!" She yelps to the operator. The phone is on speaker mode now, so that they both can listen. Membrane continues doing compressions

Membrane checked once more on the pulse, hope flooding his heart as he heard Dib's own thumping louder. "He-He has a pulse! I'm trying- it's not getting any stronger!" The professor yells desperately into the phone. _Help me. Help me. Help my son. Please._

"Do you know if he swallowed any water?" The operator asks, her voice calm, yet understanding of the seriousness of the situation.

"He-He was under the water when I found him!" Gaz answered. "He hasn't coughed anything up yet." 

"Then I need you to continue with the chest compressions, okay? Try to get him to cough some water up. Is your front door unlocked?" 

"It's unlocked." Gaz replied, her voice breaking. "Please, just hurry…" 

The sixth time Membrane checked on Dib's pulse, it's faded, almost inaudible. "No, no, no." He mumbles, frantically beginning to push harder on Dib's chest. "Dib, you've got to- you've got to fight, son. Come on. Please don't do this." 

There are people coming up the stairs. Gaz only heard them when they were inches away from the bathroom. Her body is working on autopilot now. She's so dazed that she forgot who they were, but when they went to take her brother, she let them. She feels like passing out. 

They're out in the ambulance before she knows it; she doesn't even remember walking, much less standing up. Dib coughs up water the second they resume chest compressions. Gaz realizes she's grasping onto Membrane's lab coat, and that he's holding on to her, watching them prop Dib up as he vomits clear liquid. 

Gaz's ears are ringing. She can only watch her brother cough, could only watch the gasp of air. 

He vomits twice more, and every time he does, Gaz tightens her grip on Membrane. The medics put a mask over his mouth, and he breathes again and again, eyes never opening once. 

"He's stable." A medic says, and Gaz begins to cry again

Membrane lets go of her to drop his head in his hands, muttering something in a quiet voice. Gaz can't take her eyes off Dib, unable to find breath, as if she gave all of her air to him so he could live. 

The medics wrap Dib's arms up with bandages, and Gaz watches as her brother's wounds are covered up like nothing at all. She's numb. It's like her brain has shut off, like she's floating through space, so far away from everyone. 

And then they're at the hospital. 

Numerous painstakingly-long hours have passed before the nurse opens the door and calls for them. Hearing his last namei s like a shock of electricity; Membrane immediately jumps to his feet and strides anxiously over to the nurse, Gaz following in the same attitude. 

"Please." The professor begs, searching her face for an early sign. "Tell me he's alive." 

"He made it." The nurse replies almost immediately. "But he's confused and afraid. We thought it'd be best if you came to calm him down." 

"O-Of course!" Membrane says, his posture tensing. He wants to see his son. He wants to see his son more than anyone else in the world. 

"Follow me." Down the hall the nurse turns and goes, the two anxious visitors following her. Gaz's heart aches as she looks up at a sign hanging from the ceiling -- they're headed into the ICU.

The nurse stops in front of Room 15, and Gaz can just barely see a hospital bed through the frosted, blue-tinted window. 

When the door opens, and Membrane sees his son's tiny form in that hospital bed, he almost breaks down. 

Dib is obviously loopy, his eyes glazed over and confused as he immediately glances at who had come in. He seems to recognize them, quickly inching to sit up as Membrane immediately strides across the room. 

"Dib." The professor says, immediately taking the smaller boy into a bear hug. "Son."

He didn't know if he would _ever_ get that hug again. The professor holds on for a long time, a painful lump in his throat steadily forming.

"W-Where…?" Dib mumbles into Membrane's neck, voice sluggish and confused. 

"You're in the hospital." Membrane replies softly, voice breaking in emotion. "The doctors are going to take care of you."

Gaz doesn't want to look, but she couldn't stop herself. Dib's bandages have obviously been changed recently, but little faded spots of pink still dance under the surface. 

"They… stitched up my… my arms…" Dib says slowly, slurring like a drunk. "But I was asleep… I woke- they- I was so confused..." 

"That's why you're all loopy." The professor explains, pressing his forehead against Dib's little chest. He can feel the heartbeat inside. He wants to hear it forever. "They put you under so they could close your wounds."

"I was, I was, wondering where you guys were..." Dib continues. Gaz looks at him, heart breaking all over again. "I didn't know anybody..." 

"I know. I know. But we're here now, and we're not going anywhere. I promise, son." 

Dib gives an "mmh" as a response, sluggishly pulling against his father's grip. Membrane gently eases him back against the bed, only letting him go when he's safely propped up again. 

Dib's eyes soften as, for the first time in a while, he sees his sister. "Gaz…" He says softly, longingly, and it's enough to make her begin to cry again. He sounds so _relieved_ to see her. "Gaz…" 

"I-I'm here." She whimpers to him. "It's okay. You're okay." 

"I'm s- _sorry_. I didn't… you… I..." 

"Shhh," Membrane says softly, reaching over to push some hair out of his son's eyes. It silences him, and he closes his eyes. "You need to rest for now, Dib. We're not going anywhere. When you feel better, we'll talk more." 

Dib doesn't put up much of a fight; whatever they gave him, it's made him _exhausted._ With his dad gently stroking his forehead, he closes his eyes, and falls asleep in minutes. 

Membrane pulls his hand away slowly, his eyes glued to Dib's sleeping face. His son is so young, and here he is in a hospital bed after trying to commit suicide. 

And it's all his fault.

He failed as a father. He chose work over his family, and even if Gaz never said it, she probably blames him for all of this, too.

It's his fault. 

He's crying before he knows to stop himself, and he throws his two hands over his mouth. It isn't enough to stop Gaz from looking up at him, nor does it conceal the agonized wail he gives seconds after. 

"Dad…" Gaz says softly, crying with him. Membrane turns and grabs her, latching onto her small form as his body began to rack with sobs. They're loud. He can't control them.

"It's not your fault, Dad…" 

And as much as he wants to, he can't believe her.

He needs to hear it from Dib.


	3. Awake

The sound of knuckles rapping on wood ring through the empty house. Zim, in his human disguise, stands in front of the Membrane household, angrily knocking at the entry door.

“Dib-stink!” He yells out in fury, beginning to knock harder. “Open this door this instant! You owe Zim an explanation!” 

Nobody comes to open the door. Zim growls in growing frustration, gritting his teeth in fury. _If Dib won't open the door for Zim, Zim will let him **self** in._

And that he does. The Irken throws open the entry door to see the living room and eating area completely empty, but that hardly thwarts him. He marches right in and looks around the space, seething in anger. 

“I waited on you for three hours, Dib!” He calls out to the empty house, magenta eyes scanning everything in search of the human. “ _T_ _hree!_ ”

Nothing. 

The Irken begins to stomp up the stairs, his feet softly thumping on the planks of wood as he ascends. “Do you know how hard it was to haul _all_ that equipment to our spot?!” He screeches. “ _GIR_ was no help!"

Still no response. Zim is seething by then; he absolutely does _not_ have time for this. He came to have a battle, and whether that stupid, smelly human was ready or not, he was going to get what he came for. 

Wow, Dib is an _infuriatingly_ good hider. 

Zim kicks open the door to Dib’s bedroom, his shadow crossing the floor in front of him. He steps inside, angry eyes scouring the room.

“I almost overheated waiting for you! I gave you three hours, Dib! Do you know how many minutes that is?! _One hundred and eighty!”_

Wherever Dib is, he isn’t in his room. Zim doesn't see anything worth stealing, so he marches down the hall with purpose, throwing open the next door.

It leads to a room so dimly lit that he has to strain to see anything at all, but what he finds tells him almost immediately that this room belongs to the Dib-sister. He doesn’t stick around in there long; the moment he steps into the room, a teddy bear to his left springs to life and bears sharp claws at him, causing him to scream in fear and quickly leave the room. Zim slams the door shut and catches his breath; whatever that was, he doesn't want any part of it… he doesn’t really want a part of anything dealing with the Dib-sister. 

Back to being angry, Zim strides back down the hall. There's only one room left to check, and if Dib isn’t in it, Zim's going to kill him when he reappears. No mercy. 

The room is pitch black inside, causing Zim to blindly feel along the wall until he finds the light switch and flips it. The light reveals the bathroom, but the moment that Zim turns around, he's met with a startling sight. 

The tile floor in the middle of the room is covered in diluted, bloody water, almost the same hue as the puce-colored rug. The same crimson drips past the rim of the tub, creating a streak all the way down to the floor. 

Zim's PAK clicks at the realization that the pink water is blood -- _human_ blood. An uneasy feeling begins to grow in his spooch. Against his better judgement, he slowly gets closer to the tub; the Irken takes a bated breath, leans forward, and looks inside.

The tub is full of water, tinted pink with diluted blood. Zim doesn't dare touch the water, his anxiety increasing as he tracks the blood over the edge of the tub and back down onto the floor.

A tub full of blood, and an entire missing family. That makes Zim frightful, gives him the desire to flee, to run, to get out. 

With his PAK steadily beginning to click in terror, Zim turns and quickly scampers out of the house. 

It feels as if somebody has driven a spear right through Membrane's heart. 

The moment Dib wakes up, free from the loopy grip of the medicine, he begins to ignore Membrane. He pays minimal attention to Gaz as it is, looking everywhere but at his two upset visitors, absentmindedly scratching at his bandages. 

Outside, he seems blank, devoid. Inside, his mind was racing. 

He shouldn't have survived.

He says this aloud once without realizing it, only when Gaz is in the room. It makes her heart ache and burn to hear, and she stays silent, unsure of what to say. She's still processing things on her own, kneeling on the floor at the foot of Dib's hospital bed, unable to stop staring at the newly-wrapped bandages concealing the wounds that almost killed her brother. 

"Do you blame me…?" 

This is partly her fault, isn't it? Starting an argument was the last thing she did before Dib attempted. She didn't listen to his feelings. She never had. 

Does he compare her to their father for that? 

"You know who I blame, Gaz." Dib mumbles bitterly, scowling as he picks at the bed sheets. 

Gaz's heart aches some more. What Dib says is true. Membrane knows, too. He'd been crying the whole time Dib was asleep, muttering cruel things to himself, blaming himself. It kept her awake all night, wishing she could do something, and then wishing she didn't have to listen to it. 

"You shouldn't have found me, and I shouldn't have survived." 

Gaz swallows thickly, the lump in her throat making it hard to breathe. She teeters around the sharp words, her voice quiet and weak. "We're going to get you help." 

"I don't _want_ help."

"Well, then what do you want me to do?" Gaz says, voice raising startingly quickly. She's exasperated, unable to quiet herself quick enough.

Silence. Dib takes to glaring out the hospital room window, trying to forget where he is. And then...

"Do you remember that time you twisted your ankle at the park…?" 

Gaz nods mutely, the memory flooding back to her. They had been playing tag, and she'd tried to veer to the left too quickly. That was years ago, just a few weeks before Dib's eighth birthday. They never got out like that anymore. 

"And how those hi-skool kids said you took it like a champ? You got right up and walked it off, and slapped my arm when I tried to help you." 

"Well, of course I did. I wasn't going to let you baby me in front of some hi-skoolers." Gaz replies, a faint smile stretching her lips. 

Dib smiles just as faint. "Yeah… they said that if it were me, I would have cried. That's probably true." 

Silence again. Dib gives a tired sigh, the smile slowly fading. 

"You've always been so much stronger than me." 

Gaz looks up, her smile gone as well. 

"Always so much braver… so much smarter. You've always been a step ahead. I don't think you know how much I envy you." 

Gaz hesitates, picking at the bed sheets and glancing down, speaking in a quiet voice. "Wouldn't do that if I were you…" 

"Why not? Everything I've ever wanted, you've had. Friends, good gra-" 

"My friends are on the other side of the world, Dib." Gaz interrupts, trying not to sound bitter. "And none of them have been online for weeks." 

There's a hesitation from Dib, and then a quiet "Oh."

"And my grades are only good because I cheat." She continues, her brows slowly furrowing into a glare as she confesses. "I'm not smart, and I'm not popular. It's just a fluke. My life is just as hard as yours. I just don't show it because…"

"Because…?" 

"Because I never have. And I never wanted to. So... so you better keep that between us."

Silence. Gaz is looking away by now, mind almost too preocuppied with her own issues to hear Dib reply to her. 

"Okay. It stays between us."

When Membrane comes back in the room, Dib ignores him. Nobody talks.

After a while, a nurse comes in and carefully replaces his bandages. Dib sits staring at the stitches holding his skin together while Membrane and the nurse talked about discharge options right in front of him and Gaz. 

He'll be going home sometime tomorrow if no other complications arise. The nurse hands Membrane a thick stack of papers, talks with him about inpatient facilities, and then leaves.


End file.
